Most of us would like to feel that we have identified and managed the risks within our business but we often have nagging doubts about having assessed everything.  Most businesses start at the most obvious and work their way down, falls from height, being hit by vehicles, fire and so on.  Once these have been addressed we may well move onto areas in which we feel we have a little less competence, ergonomics and electricity.  Often the last area to receive the attention it deserves is COSHH as many staff feel that a trip back to the chemistry class to learn more about these types of risks is not the most appetising way to spend an afternoon or two!

However, I’m sure that you’re aware that it’s certainly an area which needs attention and one which isn’t as bad as you may have feared once you get hold of the right information (usually supplemented by a helping hand from someone who has been there before).  You may now feel that you’ve started to get on top of these risks but there is an area which continues to befuddle an awful lot of businesses and that’s the area of health surveillance.

Recent research has shown that despite the fall in fatalities and other statistics over the past year to a record low of 151  we are experiencing a rise in occupational health illnesses, take a look at the statistics;

• Occupational cancers: 15,000 deaths per year
• Work related lung conditions: 4,000 deaths per year

There is still a tendency to view occupational diseases and illness as being a thing of the past, mainly related to industries such as mining and heavy engineering. The reality is very different. Despite huge advancements in technology and changes in the labour market the editor of International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health has claimed ‘never in history has there been so much occupational disease as exists in the world today’.

So the next question is; what can be done to manage these risks.  Thankfully the answer is often quite simple and you should look at all of some of the following;

• Hearing tests (audiometry) for workers exposed to high levels of noise (we can provide this service if required)
• Health surveillance using questionnaires (we can provide these under your Safety~net membership to cover the potential for skin disorders and respiratory problems)
• Lung function tests for workers using respiratory sensitisers / irritants or exposed to high levels of dusts or similar

Whilst on this subject you should also review your provision of protective equipment and take another look to make sure that it is being used consistently and effectively; check gloves for holes in fingertips by blowing them up and checking for leaks and check masks for fit using fit test equipment and simple observational tests such as looking for signs of dust ingress on the sides of the nose and mouth.

Remember; Issuing our health questionnaires is free, quick and easy.  Just call us to receive a copy and you’ll already be on the way to addressing this risk.

A stonemasons has been fined £30,000 after employees working around silica based materials fell ill with lung diseases. William Anelay Limited has been told by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to take correct safety precautions after two employees developed the potentially life shortening illnesses upon exposure to uncontrolled levels of respirable crystalline silica.

The York based firm admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The city’s crown court heard the exposure, between May 1994 and July 2008, is caused primarily by dry stone carving without extraction ventilation or use of protective equipment.

William Anelay, of Murton Way, Osbaldwick, had employed the two stonemasons for many years and high levels of airborne silica were identified 14 years before the case was brought, but measures previously taken to protect workers were inadequate, York Crown Court heard.

The victims’ disabilities were so severe that one took early retirement and the other was unable to work as a stonemason. HSE Inspector Julian Franklin said: “Had the company acted on the information they received after a survey in 1994, these men may not now be suffering from serious illnesses.”

We provide a full range of air sampling and COSHH assessment services covering welding fume, solvent vapours, solder fume, tributyl phosphate and almost any other substance used in the workplace. Call us to clear common sense advice on your COSHH risk assessment needs.